Review: HTC Droid Incredible 2

This update to the Incredible takes away some of the personality that made the original so likable (more on that in a moment.)

The Incredible 2 is thicker, wider, longer, and heavier. In return for the larger design, the Incredible 2 rewards users with a 4-inch display (up from 3.7). It still has the odd shrink-wrapped design with goofy contours running across the back surface over the battery.

It is large, but lightweight. It is soft, yet solid. The battery cover has a soft-touch finish, and it feels really nice in the hand. I like that its edges are all rounded in shape, rather than angular. I find it to be just the right weight. It's not so heavy as to be a brick in your hands, but not so insubstantial as to make you think it was cheaply made.

The display is huge, but not so awkward as the Thunderbolt's frisbee dimensions. There are four capacitive buttons along the bottom of the screen. The Incredible 2 loses the optical trackpad that was on the original, which is part of what helped HTC increase the screen size. It isn't missed.

Click a thumbnail above for a larger view.

The volume toggle is on the left side, fitted snugly towards the top corner. It presents just enough of a profile so that your fingers can find it. I didn't care for the action, however, which I thought was mushy. Below it is the microUSB port.

There are no buttons or controls on the bottom and right side of the device. That's fine with me, though I suppose a physical camera key on the right side would be nice. Along the top, HTC has included a 3.5mm headset jack for stereo headphones and a power/lock key. This key is about perfect. It's just large enough to find it easily. Travel and feedback were spot on.

Disappointingly, HTC nixed the red interior surface under the battery cover. The red interior was great. In fact, the Incredible 2 has lost all the red coloring that was on the original. While only a few patches of the original were red, they gave it just enough personality to stand out. The black slab stylings of the Incredible 2 are ho-hum at this point. Once the battery cover is removed, users can access the microSD card in a slot located next to the battery. The SIM card (for international roaming) is under battery.